Page 51 - Applied Buddhism

more communication and discussion between all parties involved. In the teaching on Dependent Origination, human beings
through their actions influence their lives and the environment they
In this respect, Buddhism must be prepared to work with other live in. They will continue to change life after life, in which their
parties to navigate a safer, nobler, and more spiritual course as genetic composition also change. Thus, Buddhism does not see
we venture into this uncharted but promising arena. The Buddhist biotechnology as an invasion to an existing grand design, but as a
concept of Dependent Origination and its perspectives of continuous natural manifestation of change.
change or Impermanence, and Non-self, would be able to provide a
useful orientation for mankind to live in a future world of rapid and Furthermore, the experience of suffering (dukkha) which affects
continuous change, where both man and nature will be continuously all living beings is not created by any divine being. Human beings
remade or reconstituted. are defective, imperfect, and unsatisfactory and hence deserve
improvement and enhancement. Biotechnology represents another
Man Playing God? human attempt to overcome one’s suffering (dukkha), through
modification of genes, from the tiniest organism to man himself.
One of the grounds of objection to research and development Buddhism does not see this as man playing God, but as man trying
in biotechnology is that it is invading a territory that is reserved for to improve himself.
a divine Creator. Lives, as seen by dominant ethical and religious
systems, are well-designed by a Creator to serve specific purposes. Natural and Unnatural
Thus, human beings should not be manipulating or meddling with
God’s creatures. Any attempt to modify or enhance the nature of Along the theological argument against biotechnology is the
these creatures amount to an insult or a challenge to the Creator. view that living beings should be left as natural as possible, without
Furthermore, such an attempt is bound to disrupt the well-designed subjecting them to artificial tampering. The introduction of genes of
pattern and orderliness of existing creation thereby resulting in arctic fish into tomato to increase its frost resistance, for example,
disastrous consequences. In other words, man should not play God. is objected because it is unnatural. The basis of this argument is
that nature is inherently good. This attempt to evaluate things by
Unlike these dominant ethical and religious systems, Buddhism distinguishing between natural and unnatural or the “world of born”
sees the world and life in a different perspective. Buddhism does and “world of made” is simple dualism that is inadequate from the
not see man as a unique creation that is part of a grand design. On Buddhist perspective.
the contrary, man is seen not separate from the cosmos, but as a
manifestation of it. The characteristics of the cosmos and its many In the first place Buddhism does not see the world as a simple
manifestations are Unsatisfactoriness, Impermanence (Change), construct of nature-nurture. Rather, it sees the world as a complex
and Non-self, which are all part of natural law. of interdependence and interrelatedness. In this complexity, the
boundary between nature and nurture, if it does exist, is hard to

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